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Asia-Latin America Trade Lane Absorbs Fresh Capacity as Newbuilds Enter Service

The Asia-Latin America east coast corridor is absorbing new tonnage following a summer pause in vessel deliveries. MSC took delivery of two 10,300 teu sister ships, MSC Leticia X and MSC Clelia X, from Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard this week. These marked the third and fourth units of a high-reefer series joining MSC's Carioca service. The LNG dual-fuelled vessels arrived nearly a year ahead of schedule. MSC ordered the units in August 2023 at $130 million each, with 10 ships scheduled for delivery through 2027. CMA CGM simultaneously deployed the 8,454 teu CMA CGM Atlantic to its Far East-South America east coast network. The vessel is the first of four sisters that Eastern Pacific Shipping commissioned for long-term charter to the French carrier. CMA CGM will also charter 10 additional sister ships from Capital Ship Management, arriving between late 2026 and mid-2028. Shanghai-South America spot rates climbed to $8,555 per teu on September 11, nearly tripling year-over-year.